


A Great Big Pumpkin Man

by Coasilous03



Category: Original Work
Genre: Autumn, Cutesy stuff honestly, F/M, Halloween, Human/Monster Romance, OCs - Freeform, Teratophilia, fall - Freeform, pumpkin monster
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-07-29 22:37:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16273781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coasilous03/pseuds/Coasilous03
Summary: A bunch of one-shots like a year in the making about some characters that mean a lot to me. enjoy some super fluffy, self indulgent tales about my lovely pumpkin monster son Hadrian, who's a simple country boy who just wants a friend, and Eveleen the Mom Friend





	1. Down the Cliffside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first meeting between my lovely children.

The pumpkin patch bustled with children, all causing a ruckus. They bounced around, in search of the biggest plant for their fathers to lug home and carve.  
Eveleen smiled as her little sister, an energy-filled eight-year-old, dragged her deeper into the patch. Her brown hair bounced behind her, bound in a braid. Eveleen’s own hair, a bright copper, fell in curls around her shoulders.  
Nelle suddenly stopped and looked around suspiciously. Beckoning her older sister over, she cupped her hands around Eveleen’s ear and whispered.  
“We need to split up, so we can look twice as fast. Our winning pumpkin won’t wait for us,” Nelle schemed, and Eveleen nodded. “Yeah, we need to find it soon."  
Nelle pointed to a darker part of the patch, partly obscured by the amber canopies. Eveleen’s smile faltered, staring down the pathway. “Uh, down there?” she questioned.  
Nelle nodded giddily, then pointed to a larger section of the farm, where kids frolicked with pastries in hand. “I’ll search over there. I’ll be safe, there are lots of adults, like Mrs. Sandy!”  
Eveleen nodded, also incredibly fond of the patch’s owner. “All right, you little nut. Just don’t get into too much trouble. We’ll meet back here in an hour with our findings, yeah?” Nelle vigorously shook her head. “Got it!” Eveleen kneeled down and they hugged. Nelle ran off with a wave, giggling.  
Standing back up, Eveleen turned to the imposing path. Burnt orange leaves sat on the ground, and crunched as she walked on them. The occasional leaf fell from the trees.  
The fall was her favorite season, full of family, fun and fruitful meals. The weather and coziness that autumn offered brought a flush to her cheeks and the warmest of smiles to her lips. The romance of it all left her with a feeling of satisfaction throughout the season that never faltered.  
Her parents had ushered her out of the house, insisting she got a pumpkin or two to carve for Halloween with her sister. The way her sister grinned from ear to ear as they walked down the sidewalk, littered with golden leaves, warmed her heart.  
The caw of a crow from above caught her attention, and she realized she had reached a clearing. She stood on a very old looking cobblestone pavement, a circle that was littered with brush. The cold wind howled against her side and picked leaves and twigs up off the ground. Eveleen shivered.  
Tall, intimidating trees loomed over her, and the part of the clearing opposite of her seemed to cut off sharply to a place below, blanketed with fog. She couldn’t tell what was at the bottom.  
Crows shrieked at her from above, unseen in the canopies. The wind picked up and pushed against her. Her hair and scarf whipped at her sharply, and she stumbled to stay balanced.  
The crows piercing cries surrounded her, and black shapes dove down at her, pulling at her hair and pinching at her skin. She was pushed this way and that, swatting blindly at the offenders. The breath got taken from her as her foot touched empty air, and she was sliding down the hillside.  
Branches whipped at her bare skin painfully, leaving scratches. At one point she flipped over, getting bushels of leaves and twigs to the face. Tears flew from her eyes, and her arms burned painfully. With a sickening crunch, she hit the ground.  
She cried out, lifting her shoulder from where had hit a particularly sharp rock. Blood oozed from the wound, and she grasped at it. Looking around fearfully, she tried to scope out any sign of life. The kind she saw was not the kind she expected.  
All around her were pumpkins, some as large as dogs, all thriving and plump and rich. The vines wound around on the ground freely, and brambles stuck out from empty space. The fog hovered above her, and dragonflies buzzed around where she landed, all as gold as honey.  
Thankfully, she realized, she was relatively stable. Calming down from her panic a bit, she inspected the damage. The scratches weren’t deep and didn’t bleed, and the wound on her shoulder merely hindered her arm’s movements. Looking back up, the drop seemed about twenty feet high, and she bet if she tried she could climb back up.  
But then the dragonflies flitted away from the cliff in a crowd, stopping as she looked to them. She felt like she was in a fairytale as she blindly followed the insects, stumbling after them. They lead her through the brambles and pumpkins, their size hinting that they weren’t meant to be carved.  
Avoiding stepping on any gourds, she wound through the patch. The fog was thick and cold, and she unconsciously curled her arms around herself, looking around nervously.  
She didn’t notice the dragonflies stop until she walked right into the cloud, a couple perching themselves on her shoulders. She hesitated before looking at what they stopped in front of.  
On a bit of a grassy mound sat possibly the largest pumpkin Eveleen had ever seen, easily two and a half feet tall. It was a beautiful, bright orange, and its jade green stem was as thick as her wrist. The vine stretched down and connected to all nearby pumpkins as if they all came from it. Eveleen had the sudden feeling she shouldn’t be there.  
Then, to her dismay, the vine started to animate, writhing around slowly. Large coils gathered at the hill, lifting the pumpkin into the air like snakes. They wrapped tightly around each other, creating a mass that the pumpkin sat upon. It took Eveleen a moment to notice its humanoid shape until it towered a good five feet above her, and it kept on growing.  
Arms sprouted from its sides, and the lower portion separated into two legs. It was shaped like a bodybuilder, chest big and arms strong. It seemed to be over thirteen feet tall, Eveleen having to crane her neck up to see the pumpkin.  
Vines anchored the pumpkin to the body like a crude neck. Eveleen’s stomach dropped as the pumpkin’s exterior split into a jack-o’-lantern’s face, the grin full of sharp teeth and eyes narrow. A fire seemed to flicker dimly from within.  
Eveleen held herself tighter, cold yet hot from fear. She immediately thought to her sister and knew she needed to get out of there. She paled at the vines that innocently coiled around her ankles.  
“Well, well, well,” said a baritone voice coming from the pumpkin, mouth moving exaggeratedly on each syllable. “I don’t know boys, but I think we found a lost little dame in my pumpkin patch.”  
The dragonflies, who were what it seemed to call the “boys”, flew around her excitedly, landing on her head and shoulders. The being cocked a brow and leaned in.  
“And it seems she’s gone and hurt herself, too,” it cooed, reaching a hand to her shoulder. Eveleen flinched away, fighting against the vines that were wrapping up her legs.  
“Please! Just let me go!” she pleaded, yanking her leg to loosen the vines. Seemingly shocked, the being straightened back up a bit.  
“You have something you need to do, yeah?” it inquired, and Eveleen thought of her sister. She really didn’t want to die or get hurt bad enough to be put in the hospital, as she knew Nelle’s heart would shatter.  
She nodded. "Y-yeah... Yeah, I do. I need to go back to my sister."  
It looked at her in contemplation for a second, before erupting into a hearty laugh. Slapping a hand on the undamaged shoulder, it wiped a tear from its eye socket. "Do you now? All right, let me help ya out, dame."  
Snapping its fingers, vines launched out of the ground and coiled around her shoulder, covering the wound like bandages. Eveleen yelped in surprise and the being chuckled more.  
The dragonflies, dancing in the air excitedly, darted back in the direction of the cliff. With ease, the creature picked Eveleen up and started after them, long legs carrying it in great strides.  
She took a moment to look at the pumpkin, now that she could. She first noticed the ghost of a candle in its mouth, almost completely burned out.  
Noticing her staring, the being grinned. "That's my candle. I know, he's burned down to a stub, but I'm just gonna replace him come Samhain. Do it once every year to keep me alive."  
She cocked her head. "Sah... Won?" It chuckled. "Samhain, young one. All Hallow's Eve."  
Eveleen could figure that, by this point, this thing was male. How it looked, spoke and moved were all incredibly masculine.  
She straightened up a bit, cradling her arms to her chest. "You mean Halloween! Is... Is the candle gonna last that long?"  
His chest rumbled and he looked down at her. "Always does. I was really cuttin' it close last year, though. I'm getting a bit old, so that candle's been putting more and more out each year."  
She nodded and looked around. She was being held almost completely above the fog, and could barely make out the pumpkins below. The dragonflies up ahead, however, seemed to glow. She noted that the patch seemed longer now than when she journeyed in.  
The cliff, as they now stood at it, seemed pitifully small. A bit of blood from where she hurt her shoulder stained the ground, and she glared at the rock that had cut her.  
“Well, this it?” he said expectantly. Eveleen hummed, looking up at the cliff’s edge. It was getting closer, somehow, as if the cliff were falling. Looking down, she realized she was rising. The creature was elongating its legs, stretching them like elastic.  
Unconsciously, she gripped his arm tight, and he purred. The place from which she fell was a mess, covered in black crow’s feathers and bushels of leaves.  
Stretching his legs up, he broke away from the access vines and stepped onto the cobblestone circle. Crows cawed at them from above just like how they had at her, but a vile noise from the pumpkin man she couldn’t quite describe silenced them.  
“I swear,” he said, mildly annoyed, “them creatures ain't got no manners. This is a sacred space, yeah, but no need to assault whoever treads upon it.” He looked down at Eveleen. “I mean- you had no idea, so why blame you, right?”  
She nodded hesitantly, not quite getting what he was saying. “R-right…”  
Looking around, he headed down the path she had emerged from. Splotches of light filtering through the canopies, an innocent white, smattered the two as he tread over crumbling amber leaves.  
Like painted glass, shapes cascaded over his face and Eveleen questioned her sanity as she asked: “Do you have a name?”  
He stopped, foot in mid-air, and looked down at her in astonishment.  
“My… My name?” he stuttered. Eveleen nodded slowly. He lowered his foot to the ground. “…'s Hadrian.”  
She smiled and looked to the trail. The burnt leaves floated carelessly, like snowflakes. The firey ground was speckled with sunlight.  
“My name’s Eveleen.”  
She could hear Hadrian gulp. "You want me to go further?" he questioned nervously.  
Eveleen looked over his shoulder into the woods, Hadrian turning to face them both in that direction.  
"Will you come back?" he asked, "I get rather lonely, all 'lone in my patch. I... don't see people often."  
She nodded, gazing up at him. His candle, flickering within his head, painted his head to look like a normal jack-o'-lantern. She smiled warmly. "Of course I will. Just... Meet me on top of the cliff and not the bottom, okay?" she jested, giggling.  
Hadrian perked up. "Reminds me, how's that shoulder of yours doing?"  
Rolling said shoulder, it felt number than before, probably due to the vines wrapping tightly around it. Overall, she bet she could play it off to her family and treat it when she got home.  
"It's better, thank you," she said. After what seemed like forever, Hadrian turned back around and continued down the trail.  
The sounds of the children reached them before the sight. They were laughing and yelling in joy.  
Hadrian sighed happily. "Ya' see, I love kids. But they don't like me back. I'm all scary and tall, I'd just frighten 'em off before I could say hi."  
He seemed to deflate a bit. "I've tried before when my candle was stronger and what not, scared 'em right out of their skin. They cried all the way back home, I bet."  
Eveleen patted his shoulder, then got an idea.  
"How about..." she began, and Hadrian perked up, "One day, I'll let you meet my little sister, Nelle?"  
He lit up, springing around giddily. "Oh, you mean it? You really mean it?" he asked, the vines of his arms curling tight around Eveleen's body. She nodded. A child rushed past them and they realized how close they were to the patch.  
Finally setting Eveleen down, he squirmed behind a tree, not in the least bit hiding. "Come back to the circle soon, okay?" he said, and she nodded.  
"Promise?" he pleaded. Eveleen smiled. "Promise."  
With a final grin, Hadrian slinked off. Pulling her jacket on to cover her shoulder, she walked back into the patch, suddenly aware of how small these pumpkins were compared to the ones at Hadrian's patch.  
Eveleen smiled, thinking of the next time she'd see the pumpkin man.  
"Eve! Eve!" cried a happy, slightly out of breath voice. She turned and was bulldozed by a small child with a hefty braid and a bright smile. "What'd you find, what'd you find?"  
She giggled, picking the girl up. "Someone's excited."  
Nelle nodded. "You're really good at finding things, I want to know if you found the perfect pumpkin!"  
She turned to the path where Eveleen had emerged from and gasped. Right at the entrance was a large pumpkin, stem curled like a pig's tail. Vines scurried out of sight, seemingly only seen by Eveleen.  
As Nelle exclaimed in joy and ran up to the pumpkin, Eveleen thought that she might want to visit the patch soon.  
The warmest of smiles graced her lips, like the ones fall would bring her


	2. A Home to All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eveleen returns to the patch, Hadrian wants to do good, plot twist: neither can dance

It wasn't very long until Eveleen found herself stalking back through the path. Night had snuck up on her and bugs flew lazily around, reminding her of the stars that flickered above.  
Walking down the gravel, she wondered what this meeting would offer. Would he eat her? Show her an even bigger pumpkin patch, housing an even bigger pumpkin man? Explain just what he was?  
Her shoulder was still sore, wrapped in off-white bandages instead of the coils of vine Hadrian had given her. She had gotten it from a fall two days ago, off of a cliff and into a pumpkin patch wonderland.  
A crow cried out, far in the distance. She was reminded of how she got the wound in the first place, of the birds that had herded her off of the cliff. She wondered if the mess from then was still at the plateau.  
A branch snapped to her left, just barely loud enough for her to hear, and she turned to it with a start. Her eyes flitted around before settling on a rigid form.  
A towering shadow, with a round head and a sharp grin that split across its face, stood in the shadows of the trees. It was muscled and strong, and she got the feeling it could rip her in half on a whim. Eveleen shrieked horribly.  
Then a pumpkin head popped out, as well as two hands held up non-threateningly. "Oh- Oh, no! I'm terribly sorry. I just wanted to investigate- make sure it was you n' such," Hadrian consoled, tilting his head to the side. He poked at her shoulder timidly. "Your... ah, your shoulder's lookin' better! That's really good!"  
Eveleen lowered her hands from where they had come up to shield her face. "Uh... Y-yeah. I, uh, wasn't expecting you to be there."  
He chuckled, shoulders moving animatedly. "I can't help it, it's in my nature," he gestured to himself. "Literally. I'm a Samhain spirit!"  
Eveleen cocked her head, only getting that slightly more than she would if she didn't know what Samhain was. Hadrian's grin got wider.  
Scooping Eveleen up like a doll - she wouldn't be surprised if that was what he saw her as - he stalked off down the path. "Let's get back to the patch girly, and I'll explain what I can there."  
With wide eyes she nodded, cradling her hands to her chest. He looked down at her with mirth and ran, holding Eveleen tight to his chest.   
She yelled out, the wind running through her hair. The smell of the forest was stronger, and she assumed it came from him. Being a plant-like being, and one that lived in the woods no less, he had to have been affected by the environment a little bit, or he had to have affected it in some way.  
As Hadrian bounded down the path and to the clearing, crows started to sound out. The pumpkin man simply shook his head.   
"You lot don't have any manners, I swear. Leave her alone, she hasn't done nothing wrong!" he swatted at a bird swooping down, and it perched itself on his arm.  
He brought it in close, tilting his head. "See? This here's Eveleen. She's a friend."  
It stared for a long moment before ruffling its feathers and flying off, and Hadrian guffawed. "I think that's progress, dame." He looked down at her. "Hey, don't worry. They weren't too fond of me when I first turned up."  
Eveleen gulped as he started down the cliff, landing with a thump on the edge of the patch.   
"What are you, Hadrian?" she asked.  
Hadrian stopped, looking ahead for a long moment. His chest rose and fell rhythmically, as if he was breathing. Eveleen knew he didn't breathe.  
He stuttered, words caught in his throat. finally, he stuttered out a quiet "What?", and Eveleen spoke. "Who are you, and how are you even alive right now?"  
Hadrian shuddered hard, shoulders hunched. "I... I wish I knew, Eveleen. But I don't."  
Crouching down, he set her on the ground, her own heart hammering in her chest. "If you don't know what you are... What do you know?"  
He looked away and sighed, hands flexing uncertainly. Eveleen let him think, understanding how important this was for him. After a moment he shook his head, deflating.  
"I'm not really... I don't think I'd be able to put it into words, not now," he murmured, and Eveleen nodded. "Take your time, Hadrian. It's okay."  
She put a hand on his head, being able to reach it now, and smiled at him. His Cheshire grin, which was titled downwards, quirked up. "Thank you, miss," he said, voice uncharacteristically quiet.  
Eveleen nodded, and Hadrian stood up, once again looming over her. His candle whispered in his head, quivering quietly. She noted that it seemed a slight bit shorter.  
"How are you gonna replace the candle?" Eveleen asked, and Hadrian gave a hearty laugh.   
"Now, that I can answer." He offered a hand that Eveleen took and lead her through the patch.   
The pumpkins were a vivid citrus orange, fog lazily licking at their stems. Crickets chirped, nestled in crevices unseen, giving a distant feeling of sleepiness as the two weaved their way between fruits. The dragonflies, golden as the early sun, fluttered around their home.  
"These pumpkins," Hadrian began, gesturing to said gourds, "Will someday become a head of mine. I carve it, place it on my head and stick a white candle in it, and just throw the old one out," he knocked on his head with a fist for emphasis.  
"If it's a big one, I grow bigger. If it's a small one, I shrink! There are all these weird things that affect me when I change the candle, but one thing's certain," he mused, sitting down to let Eveleen get a good look at the candle. "It's the fire that's so important."  
Eveleen cocked her head and Hadrian chuckled. "This fire, the one burning on the candle, is as old as I am. I must light a new candle with the flame of this old one, lest..." He trailed off, looking down. "Lest my flame go out."  
The copper-haired girl hummed in understanding, looking up at the stars through the layer of fog. The dragonflies danced around them, and a cricket sang as it hopped past, and for a moment, everything seemed to quiet.   
The patch, Eveleen realized, was a home to many. Not just to Hadrian, who didn't know who he was, but to all sorts of life. A lizard slithered out of sight, and the distinct call of a crow echoed through the field.  
"Hadrian..." she began, quietly. He tilted his head towards her as she leaned on him. "Yeah?" he whispered.  
"Did... Did you grow all these pumpkins yourself?" For a long while, both were silent, simply staring up at the sky through the fog. Hadrian curled his arm around her waist loosely, looking down to watch in fascination as her breath clouded around her face. Finally, he nodded.  
"Yeah... I need them. For a head, you know," he murmured, leaning in close. Her bright olive eyes looked at him and he was enraptured, staring at her lips as they moved. "Do you really think you'll live this long? I mean, that's a lot of pumpkins."  
He lowered his head more, smiling meekly. "It's, uh... It's not just for me. A lot of people like pumpkins. The children in the patch, the farmer- I helped her grow all those when I first arrived. She's got such a happy business because I helped, so I'm content."  
He shrugged. "I... am making others happy. That's all I've ever wanted to do, Eveleen. They don't have to be able to put this face to the feeling, but at least I made their day." he muttered sadly, grin charmingly crooked.  
Eveleen put a hand to his cheek. "Hadrian... That's so sweet of you. I can guarantee that one day, people will see your face and smile at an old friend, not scream at a stranger. They'll know who you really are..." She leaned in close, eyes full of mirth. "They'll know you as I do."  
The man laughed, shaking his head. "You barely know me, though!" Eveleen nodded slightly, "And that goes to show just how nice you are."   
A firefly landed on Hadrian's shoulder, and his mouth parted slightly as it floated off. It flew past Eveleen, who turned her head to be greeted by a sea of light, orange stars in the galaxy of fog. She heard Hadrian gasp behind her, full of childlike wonder.  
"And there's nature, too. The 'Boys', these plants and animals... You've made this place home for everyone. That's a good thing, a good thing that you did. Look at the fireflies, at the crows. They only know this place, this place that you have made." Eveleen gripped the hand on her thigh, the one tantalizingly tracing along the edge of her shorts, and squeezed it reassuringly.   
His face was a flurry of emotions, of flustered, confused, surprised, before settling on happiness, gripping her hand tightly. "I... think that's just about the kindest thing anyone's ever said to me, Eveleen."  
His smile softened into something truly happy, an infectious thing that elicited one of Eveleen's own. Hadrian was in awe at the emotion she could convey, and how easily she did it. How the warm glow of the fireflies surrounded them like a blanket, shrouding them in the golden light. The dragonfly companions that seemed to be his shadow danced around happily.  
And so, he did the same, reaching under her arms and lifting her up into the air, swinging around happily. The fog seemed to clear just then, revealing the true beauty of the night sky. It was painted with stars, smattered over distant galaxies. A few lightning bugs flew up into the air, seeming to join the stars in their own carefree tango.  
Eveleen's hair whipped at her face, copper curls long enough to tickle at Hadrian’s face as she laughed out loud. Her dimples framed her wide smile, eye’s crinkled at the edges, and Hadrian wondered if he had ever felt this good inside before. At one point he set her down on a girthy pumpkin, bowed like a gentleman and spun her around like they were ballroom dancing, chortling as she got dizzy.  
For a moment, they forgot about the pumpkins, of the crows and the fog, of the chilled night or the stars or the stubby candle, and it was only them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uploaded just in time for halloween, my fav holiday!! enjoy a speck of backstory and me loving my children,,, and have a spoopy halloween!!

**Author's Note:**

> a series of one-shots that will update very sporadically lmao, happy christmas


End file.
